MSG Side Effects: Why Should You Avoid MSG in Food?

MSG side effects could have the potential to damage your
health. Some studies have shown that consuming food with Monosodium glutamate
(MSG) has undesirable side effects to your body. If you
want to find out what MSG side effects are and how it affects your body, then
you need to read this article.

What is MSG?

MSG, also known as monosodium glutamate, is a naturally
occurring non-essential glutamic acid that is commonly used by the food
industry as a flavor enhancement. Ever since the mass production of MSG by
Ajinomoto Corporation in 1909, it has been widely used in the world, with
limited to no substitutes.

While the traditional Asian food uses seaweed extracts that
have a high level of glutamic acid, the form of MSG that we consume in the
modern era has been purified and isolated.

Monosodium glutamate is one of several type of glutamic acid
salts commonly found in food; others including hydrolyzed vegetable protein,
yeast extract, and protein isolate are other forms of glutamic acid and its
salts.

What are MSG side effects, and what can they do to you?

One of the most comprehensive studies on the MSG side
effects has been that by Dr. Russell Blaylock, which he published in the book
"Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills." In this book, he listed adverse
effects of MSG side effects, such as obesity, eye damage, fatigue and
depression. Furthermore, he linked MSG side effects to a number of other
diseases, including learning disability, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's
disease, Lou Gehrig's disease and more.

Also, according to the US Food and Drug Administration, over
the years there have been many reports regarding various reactions from
possible MSG side effects, collectively known as MSG symptom complex. These
symptoms include headache, flushing, sweating, facial pressure and tightness,
numbness, fluttering heartbeats, chest pain, and general weakness.

What are the causes of these MSG side effects?

Scientists fail to agree on a common link between MSG and
these adverse symptoms. However, in the book "Excitotoxins: The Taste that
Kills", Dr. Russell Blaylock believes that MSG, which is an excitotoxin, could
potentially overexcite your neural cells in the brain to the point of creating
damage to the cells themselves. Another possible cause to these MSG side
effects could be that glutamic acid is similar to the neurotransmitters that
other part of your body, such as your brain, use to trigger certain processes.
This theory could explain why these MSG side effects are typically linked to
neurological disease.

How do you avoid MSG side effects?

This is very easy; you need to be MSG free. Avoid buying
processed food or buy those with MSG free label on them. Keep in mind that MSG
can be under many other names, and unless you are a chemist, it may be hard for
you to recognize some of these scientific terms. The best solution is to buy
all your food raw and local if applicable. Becoming MSG free is a choice, and
you need to make that decision, now or never.